


Those Lights

by orphan_account



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: F/F, F/M, How Do I Tag, Ice Skating, M/M, Memes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-08 11:33:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12863616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Summary: Yuuri had never been very quick on his feet when he was off the ice. Neither he nor Viktor could have ever guessed the storm that would soon follow them because of Yuuri’s clumsiness.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is just an idea that I’ve come up with. Let me know if this is a story that you’d be interested in and I’ll continue. Also I have no idea how old everyone was when they started competing in the Senior division, so just go with it, and if my timeline is off let me know.
> 
> Not sure if I'm going to finish this, let me know if there's any interest to do so. I actually have a plot for this.

 

Yuuri was so nervous he felt like he might actually vomit.  Celestino put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. “Remember, just breath, in out with me Yuuri.” Yuuri nodded and he slowly skated out to the ice. He waved nervously to the crowd and smiled as brightly as he could.

He’d been living in the US for just over two years, and he was so grateful to Celestino for everything he’d taught Yuuri in that time. Yuuri had matured so much under the man’s tutelage. He’d been just fifteen years old when he snagged his first meddle in the Junior competition. Silver, not bad, all things considered. But not nearly close enough to where he wanted to be. Celestino had seen him and had offered to be his coach in Detroit. He’d been hesitant at first, but after a month of realizing he wasn’t going to improve on his own where he was, he’d accepted his offer. His parents had been sad, of course, but they’d given his blessing, so he moved all the way across the world to live his dream in America. His next year in the Junior finals he’d snagged gold, and he’d been  _ elated.  _ Now, this year at just seventeen years old he had scrapped and clawed his way to the Grand Prix Final.  He was filled with opposing emotions of both excitement and nervousness, both he could hardly contain. 

This was the first time he’d be competing against his true idol, Viktor Nikiforov, a true god on the ice. Yuuri was so honored, and also terrified. He was skating right before Viktor. He wondered in the man would be watching him. He hoped not, he didn’t think he’d be able to handle the pressure of knowing that Viktor was watching his every move, scrutinizing him, judging him. But if he was, just on the off chance that he was, Yuuri swore that he would skate his very best. 

As the music began he allowed his arms to slowly raise as a sorrowful look crossed his face. He slowly pushed backwards to make a small circle. He closed his eyes, just for a moment as he twisted his body sideways and raised one leg. One arm was stretched above him the other reaching out for some invisible person. When this person didn’t reach back he pushed his body backwards again, stepping quickly before gliding forward on one leg, his arms raised above him like in ballet class. His first jump was a triple axel and a double toe. He landed the axle but stumbled on the double, making it a single. He glided around the rink, twisting and turning, looking for the lost love, but unable to find them, so Yuuri turned back around and performed his double flip. He landed and pushed his arms out gracefully to the other side of the rink to perform his triple flip. He landed, thank the lord, and pushed forward on one foot. He reached up to the sky as he skated then brought his hands down to touch his heart, before throwing them to the side, as if finally giving his love away. He launched himself into a slow one-footed spin before lifting his leg up higher to perform a  Half-Biellmann spin , grabbing onto his skate. When he was finished with the spin he pushed back and did a few quick circles before landing a single toe loop entering on an inside three turn, before lowering himself to one knee and raising his arms to the sky once more. 

As the song ended Yuuri came back to himself, he really had skated his best, done his best. He could hear the crowd screaming for him so he slowly got back up into a standing position and held his hands out to him and bowed. As he skated back to Celestino he bent down and grabbed a small stuffed puppy and waved to the cheering crowd. Celestino greeted him with a huge grin and a slap on his back as he helped Yuuri put on his Ice guards and the two made their way over to the kiss and cry. 

“You did amazing, Yuuri.” His coach told him, grabbing onto his shoulder. “Holy hell, you looked totally different than you’ve ever looked before!” 

“Do you...really think so?” Yuuri asked, a blush on his cheeks. He straightened up considerably, he held the stuffed dog closer to his chest. There were a few people waving at him and he waved back at them. His smile was so large that he thought his face might split in half. 

The voice came over the intercom and Yuuri stood up straighter, crossing his fingers. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest and he thought that Celestino must have heard it too, but gave no reaction. When his score was announced he put a hand over his chest and his mouth popped open in shock. 98.94. He was in  _ first place.  _ Celestino jumped up and slapped him on the back, then pulled him into a hug. 

Yuuri knew that he wasn’t going to be in first place for very long. Viktor was next, the last skater of the night. Yuuri would be, for sure, bumped down. But being in  _ second place  _ was also amazing. He’d take second place and he’d be happy about it. 

His thought was proven correct. Viktor skated as beautifully as he always did, and managed to snag 112.17 points, with no deductions.  

By the end of the championship the next day Yuuri was weeping tears of joy as he stood at third place, holding his bronze medal on the podium, next to Chris who’d gotten into second place. The older skater looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smile. The man pat him on the back gently before turning back to the cameras and waving brightly. 

When they dismounted they were asked to wait for a few minutes so they could talk to a few official reporters. When the three of them were standing around waiting a few fans were allowed to come over to take pictures with them. Yuuri was honestly flabbergasted by how many people wanted pictures with him. He was just some nobody from Hasetsu. But he took the pictures, and hugged every person who asked, because it really was an honor. 

When the last of the fans were standing around one girl asked Viktor what he thought of Yuuri. The god of skaters blinked at them before an angelic smile spread across his face. “That was some of the most beautiful skating I’ve seen in years. If Yuuri skates just like that next year, I’m sure he’ll beat me for gold.” 

It was at that moment when Yuuri felt his knees shift and his ankle tilted wrong. He was unable to catch himself as he fell forward, crashing into a white plastic table. The table buckled and everything on top of it spilled on Yuuri. Including a few cups of coffee and a soda. Yuuri looked up, shocked and embarrassed as Chris and the fans laughed at him. Viktor seemed amused as well, but he held his hand out to help Yuuri up.  

“Are you okay?” Chris asked, gesturing to the table. Yuuri nodded and waved it off. He waved goodbye as the three young ladies left the three skaters alone. A producer came out to tell them that they’d be on in five minutes. When he saw that Yuuri was dripping in liquids, he frowned and asked if he had another jacket. Yuuri shook his head no, sadly. He’d just have to go on life TV covered in coffee. 

When he returned to Detroit the night after the banquet he greeted Phichit. The two of them shared a dorm at the skating club where they both trained. Yuuri and Phichit had been fast friends from the moment that they met. They had so many of the same interests, and the main one just happened to be skating, but still. Yuuri found the boy’s easy smile and kind words soothing. 

“I’m so proud Yuuri!” Was the first thing he said, wrapping his arms around Yuuri and squealing. “Gosh, you’re Instagram has totally just blown up!” 

Yuuri shook his head and pushed his way into the room. “You and your obsession of social media.” Yuuri muttered he laid down on his bed. He pulled out his phone anyways and pulled up Instagram. He choked when he saw how many followers he’d gained. He choked  _ again  _ and harder when he was that  _ Viktor  _ was following him. “Phichit! Viktor….he’s following me!” He said, his eyes sparking. 

“When senpai notices you.” Phichit said, a grin sliding onto his face. Yuuri looked up at him in confusion and Phichit looked up the hashtag on google for him. There was page, after page, after page of edits of Yuuri falling and knocking the table on. A few in space, a few in museums, anywhere anyone could think of, Yuuri was there, falling. All of them had the caption “When Senpai Notices You.” 

“Nooooo.” Yuuri whispered, straining his voice to dull rasp. 

“Yesss.” 

Yuuri hid his face in his pillow and brought his blanket over his head. “Well, guess it’s time to announce my retirement.” Yuuri groaned. .

“Don’t be so dramatic.” Phichit said sitting next to him. “These people aren’t trying to hurt your feelings or anything, they’re just trying to have fun.” He flipped through his phone and showed one of Yuuri’s fan pages. “See Yuuri, the public loves you.” He pat Yuuri on the back. Yuuri looked at the age and he felt slightly overwhelmed. 

“I didn’t even know I  _ had  _ fan pages.” 

“Of course you do. Did you  _ see  _ yourself in the Junior Final?” Phichit asked. “You’re an amazing skater, Yuuri. I think so, all your fans think so, now you just have to see it too.” He squeezed Yuuri’s shoulder under the blanket. “Just love the meme Yuuri. Own it.” 

“Own it, what do you mean?” Yuuri asked. 

“Not sure, actually. Just laugh it off, have a good time with your fans.” 

Yuuri sighed and sat up. He took Phichit’s phone and looked at a few of  the discussions. He found the one he was looking for. #WhenSenpaiNoticesYou. It was the strangest thing he’d ever experienced. The jokes were all about him, but Phichit was right, it wasn’t malicious. Actually it was kind of funny when he paid close enough attention to it. He let a smile fall easily onto his face and he nodded. “Alright, okay, it’s not that bad.” 

“Right. Now, I want to show you my favorite one.” He took his phone back and showed Yuuri a video, where Yuuri fell over and over again to the beat of Hollaback Girl. Yuuri sighed and shook his head asking where Phichit had found that one. “The blessed world of YouTube.” 

“God.”

* * *

 

Viktor first became aware of the meme when one of his fans came up to him after he’d done a charity skate in St. Petersburg. She came up to him with a big smile on her face and Viktor couldn’t help but smile back. She turned on her video camera and handed it to her friend. “Did you notice me Senpai?” She asked and Viktor looked at her in confusion for a moment. She looked at him with so much happiness in her eyes he just couldn’t resist. 

“Yes, I...notice you?” It came out more of a question when he said it. He jumped back in utter shock when the girl bent her leg behind her and dropped to the ground with no warning. “Oh my God! Are you okay?!” He bent down next to her and touched her arm but she was sitting up laughing. He asked if she was okay again and she nodded. 

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just a meme.” She said like she was embarrassed. 

“A meme?” He was still worried that she’d hurt herself but when she got back up he let out a sigh of relief. 

She nodded and her and her friends walked off after thanking him for being part of their video. “How strange.” He said. He looked at his rink mate who simply shrugged. “What meme is she talking about.” 

“Come on, like you don’t know.” She said with a roll of her eyes. When she saw his blank look she laughed loudly. “#WhenSenpaiNoticesYou.” She explained, already looking it up on her phone. “It came after that Yuuri kid fell over after the final. People assume it’s because you, the senpai, noticed him.” 

“The internet is such a weird place.” He said. “Katsuki fell over, it doesn’t seem very nice to be making fun of him like that.” 

“It’s not supposed to be mean.” She said. She pulled out her phone and showed her another video where it was happening to Chris, and one where it was happening to another skater he’d never seen before. “It’s just a joke, Katsuki even reposts a few on his twitter.”  

“They are a little funny.” Viktor said nodding his head. “But only if it’s not hurting Katsuki’s feelings.” 

“I assure you, it is not.” 

Viktor nodded and looked at her phone, a small smile spreading over his face. He really had thought Katsuki had done well at the final. He’d skated like he was born on the ice. Like a mournful spirit calling out the audience. Viktor had been surprised that his score wasn’t higher, but there were just a few missteps on his jumps. But Viktor knew that Yuuri would get better one day. Viktor wasn’t joking when he said he thought Yuuri would surpass him one day. Honestly, having Yuuri there, to skate against him, it lit a fire under Viktor that he hadn’t felt for the entire season. The young man was a challenger, the young man was what breathed life back into his skating world. His inspiration to do better.  “Katsuki Yuuri.” He said, chewing on his bottom lip. “I hope you can surprise us more in the future.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess this'll be a thing for a little bit.

The memes didn’t die down for months, but Yuuri didn’t feel quite as embarrassed about them as he had in the beginning. He  _ did  _ however post on Twitter that if any of his fans were going to death drop, that they should at least have a helmet on. For about a week after that there had been skating fans who’d all come with helmets to ‘drop for senpai.’ He would laugh, then sign autographs, then continue on as normal. Eventually it stopped, and no more people dropped in front of him, and he was able to continue on with his life as normal.    

However, Yuuri was having a problem. The season would be starting, officially, in three months and Yuuri still hadn’t decided his theme for that year. Then with the theme was supposed to come his routine. It got to the point where Yuuri would be sitting up in his bed browsing old skating videos, as far back as he could find them. 

It was eventually Phichit who rescued him. “I mean, you turned 18 already, so I don’t think anyone is going to have a problem with it.” Phichit shrugged at him. 

“It’s insane!” Yuuri had protested at first, his eyes wide. “I don’t know  _ anything  _ about that kind of stuff.” 

“Well, it’s your job to convince the audience that you do.” He winked and punched Yuuri in the arm. “Just watch Chris skate, I’m sure that’ll give you a few ideas of what to do.” Phichit laughed at his friend’s exasperated expression. 

Yuuri  _ did  _ wind up watching Chris. He watched the way the twenty-year old man glided across the ice like he was seducing his lover. Gentle. Entrancing. Captivating. Radiating the sexual appeal that Yuuri had yet to even discover in himself. But Yuuri could see why it would help him, to study Chris, to watch his movement so intently. Because every bend of Chris’s limbs radiated sensuality. It was certainly worth studying.

The next thing Yuuri did was tell Celestino his plans for the season. He’d looked at Yuuri strangely for a moment before smiling and giving him the thumbs up. Yuuri had never asked to design his own program before, and his coach was proud that Yuuri was finally starting to take control of his own career. “I wasn’t expecting this kind of thing from you Yuuri.” The man had said with a laugh, slapping Yuuri on the back. “But I’ll support you.” 

“Thank you!” Yuuri smiled brightly at his coach. As he walked away he realized that he’d need to write his own choreography, but the vision of what he wanted was so clear in his mind that he didn’t think it’d be too hard to do so. He’d always got most of his points from presentation anyways. But he’d need to practice his jumps intensely. He didn’t have very much time before the four continents.  

So he trained, he perfected as best he could, and it wasn’t long before he was standing center stage in Japan’s national competition to announce my theme. “This year my theme will be losing your innocence.” He’d said with determination set into his face. There was a murmur that rose up from the crowd as they applauded him. He felt heat rise to his cheeks. He wanted to take it back when the cameras started flashing, but he’d worked too hard to quit. 

The next week, he’d won gold in Japan, and knew he’d be moving onto the four continents. He checked his social media and sighed, almost dropping his phone when he saw that he had accidently created another meme. Phichit had found it  _ very _ amusing. If Yuuri had known this would happen again, maybe he wouldn’t have chosen such a risque theme. But he knew at the same time that he was doing the right by his skating. 

While his theme might not have been something he’d personally experienced, watching Chris go from the chubby cheeked little cherub to the walking sex machine he was at present, Yuuri had been gripped by the claws of inspiration. Not that he’d  _ ever  _ tell Chris that. There would be no end of teasing if he did. But that was it, the story in his mind, not really about Chris but inspired by his transformation. 

When he returned to Detroit, Phichit had greeted him with a huge smile and a hug of congratulations. He’d demanded to take a picture with him, and Yuuri tiredly agreed. The picture was posted to both of their Instagrams and Yuuri fell into bed in a dead sleep. Not caring, just for those few hours, about what competition he’d have to skate next.

* * *

 

Viktor and Chris often enjoyed spending time together whenever they were in the same country. Europeans were already over a month before, yet they both found themselves in St. Petersburg. For Viktor, that was only natural, considering he lived there, but getting a text from Chris had been a surprise. But even so, he’d been more than happy to take Chris out to his favorite local bar. 

“You’ve been working hard Viktor, but I assure you it’ll be me who’ll be winning gold at Worlds this year.” Chris said taking a drink from his glass. There was no anger or jealousy in his eyes but he did look competitive, which was fine with Viktor. Competition was what made skating fun to begin with. 

“Don’t be so sure, Chris.” Viktor waved his finger at him with a twist to his lips. “It seems that Katsuki has once again taken the world by storm. Are you so ready to dismiss him?” Viktor smirked at his friend. “Not to mention, I will  _ also  _ be there.” 

“Ah, yes, how could I ever have forgotten your Yuuri.” Chris said with a wink. Viktor shook his head, and ordered them both another round of shots. “So, I’m sure you’ve noticed what his theme is this year.” Chris leaned a little closer. “Losing his innocence. You….wouldn’t happen to  _ know  _ anything about that, would you Viktor?” 

“No.” Viktor said, throwing the shot back and cringing at the burn for just a moment. “He’s a bit young for me, don’t you think? Isn’t he like, seventeen?” 

“Eighteen, actually.” Chris followed Viktor, but the harsh liquid didn’t even phase him. “Perfectly legal. Though I will admit that thinking about him in any really sexual way makes me...uncomfortable. I still look at him and see the frightened fifteen year old from Juniors.” 

“Exactly!” Viktor snapped his fingers. “He’s still just a kid, no matter what he skates about. He’s only been ‘legal’ for what like two months?” He winced when an alarming thought entered his mind. “Do you think someone really...that soon? Or worse even, before.” 

“Oh they better not have.” Chris said, a crease between his eyebrows. “If they have and I find out who it is, they will be meeting the business end of my skates.” 

“I really hope he’s skating about someone the same age as him. I know what it’s like, being the one fawned over that young. I was never naive enough to fall for it.” 

“We should ask him about it. When we see him at worlds.” Chris said, biting his lip. “It’s so strange, how protective I feel over the younger skaters.” He sighed. “The true sign of growing old.” 

“You’re twenty.” Viktor rolled his eyes. “That’s hardly old. But I do understand what you mean, being protective. There are so many creeps who hang around during competitions, I feel like I need to wrangle in the younger kids into a daycare room.”       

Chris laughed loudly. “What would that even look like?” He asked, hanging off the bar railing. “A bunch of pouting teenagers eating animal crackers.” 

“Please, we need to make that a thing. Aww, they’d all be so cute. We could get them juice boxes and a puppet show while we’re at the banquets, and we won’t have to be worried about creepy old people trying to harass them.” 

“Protect the young skaters!” Chris cried loudly. He turned to Viktor with a grin. “I might be really drunk.” 

“Yes, I can see that.” Viktor pulled out his card and paid their bill. “If you want we can go back to my place and watch some bad movies.” 

“ _ And  _ plan our day care center for young skaters.” 

They got to Viktor’s apartment and were greeted by the most wonderful good boy ever. After sniffing out Chris, the good pup went back to the bedroom and Viktor pointed to the couch for Chris. He came back with a few blankets and a bag of fresh made popcorn. 

“So did you see the new meme featuring our young Casanova?” Chris asked, pulling out his phone and showing it to Viktor. It showed Yuuri in the last move of his performance, where he threw his arms behind him, with a look far to carnal on his young face. With the tag ‘my body is ready.’ 

“This kid just can’t catch a break.” Viktor said, shaking his head and pushing Chris’s phone away. “Might as well rename him ‘Yuuri Caught Memeing.’ 

Chris laughed loudly. “I’m going to try and make that trending.” He said. Viktor couldn’t see what his friend was doing, but he felt that it was something awful, as usual. So he turned the TV on and ordered the first bad movie he could find. They only had it in Russian, but they did have French subtitles, so Chris could follow along. But Chris was already sucked into his phone, so Viktor knew there was no stopping him. So he sighed and focused on the movie, and sent a silent apology to Yuuri, for whatever he had unknowingly helped create. His friend was laughing next to him, so Viktor turned the TV up to try and drown him out.

* * *

 

Yuuri had gained a new nickname around his rink-mates. Yuuri Caught Memeing. He tried his best to ignore it, but that was the  _ only  _ way that they would address him. When he was packing up to leave for Worlds’ a week before the competition his friends had made a banner for him that said ‘Best of Luck, Yuuri Caught Memeing.’ They posted it to twitter and Yuuri just had to ignore their laughter, but he’d taken it anyways, because it meant a lot to him that they had gone out of their way to make it, even if it was for a joke. 

He arrived at the hotel with Celestino about two hours before they were intending too. It was kind of nice, actually. They were in Quebec, Canada that year and Yuuri had found himself enchanted by the new area. It was snowing when they arrived, and Yuuri sat alone in his hotel room. Phichit would have been so angry, if Yuuri didn’t snap a quick picture so he pulled out his phone, and started recording a live video on Instagram of the snow falling, with some light music playing softly behind him. He was about to end the video when he noticed a car pull up in front of the hotel. Yuuri noticed the mop of silver hair and gasped. “Viktor! You cut your hair!?” He said. “It’s looks awesome!” He wasn’t thinking, so when he looked down at the comments and sighed. “Guys, please don’t make this another meme.” He begged. A bunch of the people watching sent the purple devil emoji. He chuckled softly and rolled his eyes. “It looks cool though, right?” He told them, referring to Viktor’s hair. He saw Chris sending kissy faces and laughed. “Well, I think that’s my cue to stop before I embarrass myself further.” He waved goodbye and turned off live. 

He slumped back in his chair, feeling the uneasiness rising up in him. He started to wonder if his skating was just a giant meme to his fans. Maybe they didn’t think he was very good at skating at all, they just followed him to wait for him to do something stupid, to make a fool of himself. It was something he was actually very good at. Maybe the only thing he was really good at. He really didn’t think he was anything special. Just a dime a dozen skater certified by the JSU. 

He dropped his phone on the bedside table and flopped down onto the bed. He got like that sometimes, and he wasn’t even sure why. It’d be one second he was having fun and happy then the next he’d have no energy to speak of. He wrapped himself in the heavy sheets and curled up into a ball. He felt safer, wrapped up under covers. More relaxed. These moods he’d go through, he knew that it would pass eventually, but there was no telling when eventually was. He really hoped that this one would pass before he’d have to skate. When he got like this, getting out of bed was really difficult. Skating was nearly impossible. He’d lack performance, it’d be hard to concentrate. He sent up a silent prayer that he’d be okay for his short program in just a few days. 


End file.
